Carlos Rodón's official IL activation reveals Nestor Cortes' possible injury timeline

The Carlos Rodón Era will officially begin on Friday night in the Bronx, unless disaster strikes the Yankees left-hander on the way to the bullpen (which absolutely cannot be ruled out).

In order to bring Rodón on board, the Yankees needed to do some roster reshaping. After all, having the free agent signee on the 60-Day IL was actually a boon to the Yankees all season long, allowing them an easily opened 40-man spot for pitching staff manipulation purposes. Plucking Nick Ramirez off the scrap heap? Thank Rodón for facilitating the move!

Rodón was given a roster spot and activated Friday afternoon, and in exchange, the Yankees made an official determination on a different member of the rotation.

In accordance with most estimates of Nestor Cortes Jr's timeline, he was placed on the 60-Day IL, clearing Rodón's roster spot the same way it was initially crafted. That means his earliest possible return date is Aug. 8, two months after he was placed on the IL.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Returned from rehab and reinstated LHP Carlos Rodón (#55) from the 60-day injured list.
• Transferred LHP Nestor Cortes to the 60-day injured list.
• Placed INF/OF Jake Bauers on the 10-day injured list…
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 7, 2023

Yankees add Nestor Cortes Jr. to 60-Day IL, activate Carlos Rodón

Hopefully, Cortes took it better than Luis Severino did last year when the Yankees showed him a calendar.

The move will allow Cortes an additional month of rehab. Given we hadn't heard anything suggesting he'd be available after the All-Star break, this makes perfect sense. He still must make the transition from light throwing to rehab starts; the math lines up.

Additionally, the Yankees lost Jake Bauers to the IL (as expected) after his wayward dive on Wednesday messed up his shoulder. Instead of bringing the scorching Estevan Florial north, the Yankees are going to go with ... Franchy Cordero. Again. Cool. Let me know how it turns out.

At the very least, Greg Allen is reportedly readying himself for a rehab stint after the All-Star break, which qualifies as big news this summer, as New York's "Dead Man Walking" outfield full of infielders could really use someone with legs and experience. That is bigger news than Nasty Nestor continuing on the same path.

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